The quarter finals of the World Matchplay come to an end on Friday evening inside the behind closed doors set up in the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, and by the conclusion of the night we will know the semi-final line up.
We already have two of the best in the world in the last four and on Friday evening four more players will battle it out to join them in what has fast become an intriguing tournament after the demise of the top four in the world rankings.
The Format
Much has changed in the world in recent times but the format of the World Matchplay hasn’t. The event begins with the first round over the best of 19 legs with the second round moving up to the best of 21 legs. The quarter finals take place over the best of 31 legs with the semi-finals the best of 33. The winner will then be determined on the second Sunday of the tournament in a best of 35 leg final. Each match in the tournament has to be won by two clear legs unless each player reach two beyond the scheduled winning number (12-12 in the first round, 13-13 in the second round etc). If that happens the next leg will be a deciding leg.
Day 6 Recap
There were only two matches on Thursday night as the quarter finals got underway and both were pretty good tussles and were close throughout until the winner pulled away at the end. Michael Smith was the first man to book his spot in the semi-finals when he beat Krzysztof Ratajski 16-13 before Gary Anderson then joined him. The Scot had a slightly easier win, coming past Simon Whitlock 16-12 although that one looked like it could have gone either way at 16-12.
It wasn’t a great night for us betting wise. We had one match bet and one outright bet running for us and neither came in. We was on Ratajski to win the quarter at 9/2 but he couldn’t ever really get in front of Smith and then a blitz of scoring late on saw the beaten finalist of last year home. We then wanted over 8.5 180s from Simon Whitlock but he found his scoring boots too late and could only deliver seven so we fell a couple short.
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Adrian Lewis vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The opening quarter final of the two on Friday night sees a man in Adrian Lewis who has been all the way to the final of this event before, taking on Dimitri Van den Bergh who will be aiming for a semi-final spot in what is his debut in the event.
Lewis has plenty going for him in this match in my eyes. Firstly his scoring in this tournament, in the second round against Danny Noppert in particular, has been of a very high standard and close to what we would see from him at his best. The other thing is although it has been a while since he’s been to this stage of these major events, he has plenty of experience in them, unlike Van den Bergh who won’t have played many matches over this distance with the leg on leg scrutiny that comes with it.
I think that makes Lewis a worthy favourite here and when you add in the tendency for the Belgian to go a little scratchy on the doubles when the pressure intensifies, it is hard to see past a Lewis win here. At 17/20 I think there is enough mileage in the price for the more experienced man to come out on top and book his semi-final slot.
Glen Durrant vs Vincent van der Voort
The second quarter final on Friday night sees the man who dethroned Peter Wright in the previous round in Glen Durrant going up against the veteran Dutch star Vincent van der Voort in a match which presents a big opportunity for both men.
Durrant is still accumulating prize money to his ranking so every pound he wins this week takes him further up the rankings and he’ll add at least £50,000 to his blossoming total if he can come out on top here. The former BDO king is a warm favourite here but it is never easy to back up a big important win like the one he had in the previous round. To his credit, van der Voort has been very good in this tournament and if he can maintain his form over this longer distance then he is entitled to be a big threat. I have doubts over whether he will but given that we are not guaranteed to see the best of Durrant I’m happy to leave this one alone even allowing for how tempting Durrant -3.5 legs is.
Tips
Back A.Lewis to beat D.Van den Bergh for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Betfair
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